The PM, which is in the final phase of government analysis before publication, was prepared with the objective of taxing sports betting and creating rules to regulate the sector, and gained strength in the face of allegations of manipulation in Brazilian football.
The punishments will be valid for companies and individuals and may include suspension of betting activities, revocation of registration authorization and prohibition to participate in public tenders.
"If there is evidence of manipulation of results or other similar fraud, the Ministry of Finance may, cautiously, determine the immediate suspension of bets and the retention of payment of prizes," says the text of the norm.
The value of fines, which will be defined and applied by the Ministry of Finance, will depend on the severity and duration of infringement, degree of injury to the economy and sport, magnitude of the advantage obtained by the offender, the economic capacity of those involved and recurrence, according to the text.
Among the acts that will be typified as an infringement is the execution of any attentive practice to sports integrity, an act that generates uncertainty of the outcome of matches, impairs the equality between competitors or other forms of fraud that affect the fairness of the sport.
There will also be punishment for those who explore sports bets without authorization from the Ministry of Finance, make it difficult to make the government's supervision and publicize advertising outside the rules in force.
There will be the possibility of suspension of the administrative proceeding if the investigated signs a term committing to interrupt the actions under suspicion, correct irregularities and pay a partial amount of the fine.
The PM emphasizes that administrative punishments do not make it impossible to apply other penalties already provided for by law. The Fan Status, for example, establishes a sentence of up to 6 years in prison and a fine for those who ask or accept advantages to change the result of sports competitions.
To avoid conflict of interest, the PM will also prohibit bets by owners or employees of operating companies, public agents involved in the regulation of the sector or people who may influence the outcome of games, such as players, sports leaders, coaches and referees.
The topic gained strength last week after denunciation of possible fraud in Brazilian football. The Federal Police will investigate alleged departure handling scheme to benefit gamblers revealed by the Goiás prosecutor, who indicated 16 people, including seven professional players.
Prosecutors claim that a gang has paid players to commit infractions. The group then bet on these games and won payments when the manipulations occurred.
The government will also create a working group that will make proposals for legal measures to combat fraud. One of the points to suggest is the use of artificial intelligence to capture atypical and betting atypical behaviors.
On another front, 2.55% of the total raised with the sector's tax will be destined to the National Public Security Fund. The appeal can be used to hire inspection technologies and equip the police.
Source: Reuters
